Early Start
by Dragonfire Alchemist
Summary: In which Ed learns the value of Christmas, but is less than amused with his children deciding on waking up at some ungodly hour. (EdWin and AlMei; wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!)


**Hey, whaddaya know, I'm not dead! Yes, I'm working on my other stories. Just taking a while.**

**Anyways, a Christmas fanfic (let's just pretend, since it's early in the morning, that it's still Christmas day...) based off of what I did to my parents when I was little. Needed to write some fluff since I've been seeing a LOT of angst lately. Which I enjoy, it's just... Small doses at a time. Enjoy!**

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><p>Edward had never really appreciated Christmas very much, not at first.<p>

Sure, he had celebrated it as a kid and Al had always insisted upon decorating the dorm during their teenage years, when they weren't traveling or researching. He would even make little homemade gifts for his brother (which Ed would do in return, though he preferred buying as many new books as he could so that Al would have more to occupy himself with during the night). Overall, it was a good time for the Elric brothers, but it wasn't something they really had time to fully celebrate. Not to mention the fact that sometimes it brought up painful memories of Christmas day with their mother, and Ed would sometimes even recall the Christmases spent with their father.

It's funny how having kids made you appreciate Christmas so much more, though for the parents, it also led to a bit of hatred.

"Daddy, Mommy, wake _up, _it's _Christmas!_"

Ed groans and cracks his heavy eyelids open, just barely able to see the silhouettes of his son and daughter practically bouncing off the walls.

"Ugh, what time is it…?" He mumbles, popping his back as he sat up. Winry was slower to wake up, burying her face in the pillow and letting out what sounded suspiciously like a muffled whine.

"Three o'clock," they both reply matter-of-factly.

"Go back to bed," he grumbles, pulling the blankets back up over his bare chest.

"But _Dad_, we can't just go back to sleep!" Ace, the older brother, protests.

"Read or somethin'. Jus' gimme another half an hour t'sleep."

The two are obviously disappointed, but they know better than to question a very sleepy, cranky Edward Elric. In moments, they're both out of the room and Ed curls up with his wife in exhaustion. It only takes a matter of seconds before he's again fast asleep. But it feels like even less then that when he hears-

"Daddy, wake up!"

He could have sworn his eye twitched. "Thirty more minutes."

"But Dad-"

"Thirty more minutes. Then I'll geddup…" His words slur tiredly, and once again the children grumpily walk out of the room.

Thirty minutes later, on the dot, he can actually feel them dragging him out of bed. His natural instinct almost makes him lash out, but he manages to wake up enough to push the urge away and groan instead. "Really, guys…?"

"You would've said another thirty minutes."

True, he would have.

Ed sighs and stretches, getting to his feet. Winry soon follows, being dragged up by their daughter, Venia. It takes a while before both parents are ready (the kids hover over them impatiently the whole time Ed slips an old t-shirt on and Winry makes them both coffee).

The second the exhausted pair shambles over to the Christmas tree with their steaming cups of pitch-black coffee in hand, the kids are already clutching their full stockings close to their chests, eagerness radiating from their faces.

"Alright, alright, go on ahead," Winry yawns, sitting on the couch with an arm wrapped around Ed.

They start with the stockings first, always have and likely always will. Then turns are taken opening presents (first Ace, then Venia, Winry, and finally Ed) until all the presents under the tree are all unwrapped.

A simple, uneventful tradition, but if Ed didn't know any better, the lights glowing on the tree in the still fairly-dark house made the air feel almost _magical_. Everything was still blanketed with that morning hush, the shimmering sheet of snow outside muffling things even further. And eventually-once enough coffee was in his system-the children's excitement became contagious. Ed found himself grinning the whole time, enjoying the sheer ecstasy his children were feeling as they hurriedly tore the wrapping paper from their presents. And at about eight o'clock on the dot, three polite knocks resounded through the house.

Ed bounces to his feet, his smile getting even bigger once he had walked over and opened the door to allow Alphonse, Mei, Xiao Mei, and his tiny niece (she was squirming in Mei's arms and squealing at the sight of her uncle) into the house.

They then exchange gifts with the four newcomers, and by the time they're finished and Winry and Mei are busy fixing breakfast, the kids are occupied with their new things (Venia and Ace are reading their huge books with relish while the baby Melody is busily shaking her new rattle) and Ed and Al are casually relaxing on the couch.

"Did you like the books I got you?" Al questions.

Ed just grins and ruffles his brother's hair. "'Course I did. Needed some new ones to add to the collection, especially with Ace and Venia starting to raid my study more and more. Did you like the books _I _got _you_?"

Al laughs and nods, playfully shoving Ed. "Yeah, of course! I can't wait to try fixing up some of those recipes as soon as possible."

"Try not to explode the kitchen like you did before."

"Brother, I did not 'explode the kitchen'. There was just a little, uh… fire, is all."

"Whatever you say, Al." He wraps an arm around his little brother and holds him close. Even to this day, he always feels a bit surprised-and overjoyed-by the sensation of hugging Alphonse and not being met with cold metal.

"Having a good Christmas, Ed?"

The older man doesn't even hesitate, a content smile on his face. "Yeah, always."

Funny how having a small, happy family made him appreciate Christmas all the more.

Even if that family woke him up at three in the morning on his day off.

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><p><strong>Review and tell me how I can improve, please! I'll be uploading more stuff soon, promise.<strong>

_**~Dfire**_


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